Who thought weeds could get so tall?

[Kwak]

One of my big back-burner projects has been to clear all the undergrowth from a wide and flat area on the hilltop above my house. During previous years we had all the dead trees, wild grapevines (which had choked out all the trees) and brambles cleared out but I never kept up on it. This spring I decided to be proactive and sprayed some groundclear and ran the mower up there too.

Then we started really getting preoccupied with the kids and I barely had time to mow the lawn let alone lug the mower or weed whacker up to the top of the hill. I admit I let things slide and day after day I saw the weeds take over. I even went up there one evening after summer when they were waist high.

Well, I went up there again yesterday after I saw a deer hiding between the weed stalks. Yes, I said stalk! Those weeds are that tall! When I got up there I found that in fact they towered over my head and the trunks - they're too big to be called stalks anymore - were probably as big as 3" across! :shock:

So with grandma in town visiting until late this afternoon, I made it my mission to fell the forest of ragweed up there. I already made a dent with the brushcutting attachment on my weed whacker but it was slow going and now the carnage is up to my hips. I'm hoping to finish knocking the rest down (about a 1/4 acre) before lunchtime this morning.

My ultimate plan is to once again be able to mow up there, though I know that it ain't gonna be anytime this year. The problem is that even the weeds are knocked down, there's still all this stuff to get mulched up. Here's where I need advice: what's the best way to get this done single-handed? The weather report says that we'll be getting about 5-7 days of good weather and I want to at least plant some grass seed up there. Can I get it done or does some of this have to wait until the spring?

[woodchuck]

Wait until spring, when it's all dead and brown, then burn it.

rake off the mess if desired, then scatter some seed and straw, water regularly, then keep up on the mowing.

If you really want this done now, go rent a DR rough mower, self-propelled, that'll knock it down just fine, and mulch it nicely as well.

[Kwak]

Wait until spring, when it's all dead and brown, then burn it.

rake off the mess if desired, then scatter some seed and straw, water regularly, then keep up on the mowing.

If you really want this done now, go rent a DR rough mower, self-propelled, that'll knock it down just fine, and mulch it nicely as well.

There's a county ordinance against burning, so I pretty much have to chop it all down. I just got in from getting a big chunk of it done in about an hour, but I've got a ways to go. I definitely want to get it cleared before winter, but I see your point about waiting - at least for seeding.

[woodchuck]

The snow will weigh it down too, then it may be easier to keep up with, I've done both, let it die and lay down over winter, then stay on the mowing the following year, that worked fine, and was pretty easy.